Those 19 Years
by Bailey2012
Summary: My version of what could've happened in that 19 year gap. Starts with Ginny and Harry's reunion - includes other characters also. I don't own Harry Potter or any other characters or anything - that is all thanks to the brilliant JK Rowling! Thanks! x
1. Chapter 1 Reunion

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 1 - Reunited**

A boy with raven black hair and glowing emerald green eyes slouched through the battle-worn hallways of his once magnificent home, hidden safely underneath the sanctuary of his invisibility cloak.

This boy (or man, as he has proven himself to be many time over) was Harry Potter. He was also known as _the-boy-who-lived_ or _the- chosen- one_, and more recently, _the- wizarding- world's -saviour_. Mere hours ago, this 17-year-old defeated possibly the most evil wizard of all time, gaining him more than enough un-wanted attention.

As his slumped, un-fed and exhausted figure, made his way slowly towards his only possible source of privacy and comfort, he allowed his mind to wander to what had happened the last day;

Battle, Blood, Hurt, Pain, Victory, Relief, Celebration, Death - _Death. _There were lots of deaths throughout this battle.

His parents, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Colin, Mad-eye, countless members of the Order, Fred... _Oh god, Fred._

The scarred man, who was rapidly losing his inner battle of emotional turmoil, slid his frail yet strong body, down the side of a crumbling wall. He brought his head to his hands as his mind swam with images of those he lost. His face scrunched up as his eyes welled with sadness. He let out a heart-wracking sob as the tears rolled over his cheeks. Through the sound of his torment, he heard footsteps coming closer to his prone invisible figure. Apart from the initial sob, he had be crying silently, so unless the person coming closer owned a certain half-mooned pair of spectacles or a magically spinning eye, he was pretty safe of remaining unhidden, as he wanted to be. But he forgot about the one person he wanted to see most of all - Ginny Weasley.

Standing at the end of the corridor, was Ginny Weasley. The youngest of seven, the only girl, the one seen as small, fragile and one in need of protection, was standing at the end of the battered corridor, looking as battle-scarred and emotionally drenched as himself. Her usual crimson hair was now stained with dirt and blood, her chocolate brown eyes were shimmering with tears, and her face was smudged with dirt and accompanied by a thin scar running across her cheek. At this moment, Harry thought she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Just as she was about to turn to give up her search as hopeless, he released a strangled whisper.

"Ginny,"

She turned with such vigorousness, she almost lost balance. She knew that voice. It was the voice of the man who she had desperately needed for the past year. It was the voice of the man she had wanted to see and who she had been searching for the last couple of hours. It was the voice of the man she loved. It was the voice of her Harry.

He stood and withdrew his cloak, effectively destroying his escape, and revealed himself to her. They stared at each other for literally seconds, before they began to advance towards each other at a rapid pace. When they reached each other, Ginny flung her arms around his neck and pulled herself towards him, burying her face into the side of his neck. He held her so tightly; her feet weren't touching the floor. He burrowed his face into her hair, comforted by the usual flowery smell buried beneath the dirt and muck. They found solace in each other's arms and clung to any relaxed or comforting feeling that they could at this time. After what seemed like hours, Harry released some tension from his hold and allowed Ginny's feet to touch the dented floor once again. Slowly she eased her grip around his neck so the two could see each other's faces once more. Almost as soon as they were apart, Ginny grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him, in a way reminiscent of their first kiss, but with the additional emotions of the year spent apart poured into the kiss as well. After minutes, or possibly months or years, they separated, and uttered the words both of them were desperate to hear,

"I love you,"

The words echoed through the empty halls, as the two lovers embraced once more, with grins of relief and love plastered on their faces. They remained in silence for a long time, savouring their alone time together. Unfortunately, the emotional silence had to be broken.

"We should probably go to the common room. You know, get some sleep. You certainly look like you need some," she spoke quietly, with a small sad smile on his face.

"I haven't slept for at least two days..." he said with a dry laugh, wondering if he really hadn't slept since before the disastrous episode at Gringotts.

They slowly pulled apart but remained contact by wrapping an arm around each other's waists. They departed and quickly made their way to Gryffindor Tower. It was a short journey, with only their footsteps and the muffled sounds of celebration sounding in the air. Once there, they were interrupted by a drunken Fat Lady.

"Oh my goodness! V, look who it is! It's the saviour of the wizarding world's itself!" she spoke loudly in a drunken slur.

"Sorry, we don't know the password..." Harry started, embarrassedly.

"Like you would need one! Go right on in!" She swung open, a little violently, probably due to her alcohol intake.

They stepped into the common room, relieved that they found it relatively untouched. Apart from a rip on one of the thoroughly worn sofas and a small window smashed, it appeared the same as Harry remembered since First Year. Sighing, he felt a tug on his hand. Ginny was walking towards the Boy's dormitory, and dragging Harry with her.

"Ginny? What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.

"Going to get some rest with you," she stated simply as they started up the stairs.

"Are you sure?"

Ginny stopped and turned towards him, a few steps higher than him, making them the same height.

"Harry, I need to sleep. So do you. And I know that unless I'm being held by your arms or at least near you I'm going to have nightmares – and I just can't deal with that... Not today..." she finished in almost a whisper.

Harry understood her reasoning and hated seeing her so helpless. He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss and small smile in reassurance. She continued leading them up the stairs.

When they reached the dorm, Harry was welcomed by the warming sight of his traditional four-poster. He supposed it may look strange with all their possessions missing, but he was so tired he didn't notice. Before he collapsed in bed, he remembered that he hadn't got any other clothes and neither did Ginny.

"Kreacher!" Harry called.

With a loud pop, the wrinkling, old elf appeared in the room, and Ginny jumped beside him. Harry looked as the elf stared at him, eyes full of admiration.

"Master called for Kreacher. Kreacher is very proud of his Master and what he did. Kreacher is proud to be the great Harry Potter's house elf," he croaked, with his big tennis-ball eyes shining.

"Thank you for your help Kreacher. You and the other house elves did amazingly. I'll never be able to thank you fully," Harry replied, smiling at the small creature.

"You has done more than enough, Master. Is there anything Kreacher can do for his noble Master?"

"Could you grab me some clothes and pyjamas and some for Ginny too. Oh, and a sandwich or two wouldn't do any harm," he had barely finished talking before Kreacher popped out.

He turned to look at Ginny and smiled widely at the look on her face. She stood staring at the place Kreacher once stood with the pure picture of shock and confusion plastered on her face. Harry almost laughed. She turned to him.

"What? Since when was he so nice?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

"Part of our long story of last year – I'll promise I'll tell you, soon, but I can't right now, not today..."

"It is okay, Harry. Just make sure I hear it soon, alright?"

He pulled her towards him in an embrace, but as her head hit his chest, he felt a bruising pain and hissed. Ginny removed her head quickly at the sound looking at him. She pressed lightly on the spot her head had been, and he hissed again. She started to pull off his shirt. When Harry protested, Ginny gave him a stern look full of love and worry, and he stopped. Once she pulled of his shirt, she gasped. Upon his slim yet muscular figure, was a large purple bruise over his heart. Harry himself looked down and looked shocked also. Ginny peppered a few kisses on his bruise before kissing him. The moment was interrupted however, when Kreacher popped back into the room with a pile of clothes and a large plate of bacon sandwiches. He also revealed a pot of dittany. Kreacher looked at him concernedly.

"I is thinking you would be needing some Master,"

They nodded their thanks and he left. Before changing or eating, Ginny pushed Harry down on to the bed. She picked up the dittany and massaged some into his chest. Harry sighed as his discomfort was eased. After Ginny was sure all cuts and bruises on his chest were covered, she kissed him again before letting him get changed and going to change in a different bathroom herself.

Harry persuaded his tired body to get up from the comfort of his bed of six years. He shuffled his feet on the worn red carpet of the boy's dormitory and made his way to the shower. Walking past, he caught his reflection in the mirror. He hadn't looked at his reflection in at least a week – he had grown dark stubble, his face looked pale and he was sure Mrs Weasley was going to want to fatten him up soon enough. He wondered into the shower and sighed as the hot steaming water relaxed his muscles. He simply stood for a few minutes before grabbing an old bar of soap and washing his hair and peeling the grime of off his body. About 20 minutes later, he was dried and clothed, under the covers of his bed waiting for Ginny. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw a flash of red, and turned to see Ginny stepping through the door of the dormitory. She was wearing a familiar red quidditch shirt that was far too big for her and came down to just above the lower half of her thighs. She smiled at him softly, crawled under the covers and snuggled closer to his warmth. Harry's arms came around her as she laid her head on his chest, feeling and hearing his heart beat against her ear. He kissed the top of her head, breathing in her intoxicating scent, before sighing and closing his eyes.

"It's finally over, isn't it?" he breathed.

"No, Harry," she breathed, snuggling her head under his chin, "It's just the beginning."


	2. Chapter 2 Musings of Molly

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 2 – Musings of Molly**

Molly Weasley was sitting in the Great Hall, surrounded by the majority of her family. She had her head lent on her husband's shoulder and obvious tear-trails down her dirt covered face. Her boys were sitting around her. Bill and Fleur were cuddled closely together nearby, ending the bunch of vibrant red hair that was their family. She had judged to quickly when it came to Fleur; thought she was only with her boy for looks or money or something petty like that. Last year, after the werewolf attacked him, she realised that Fleur was going to stay with Bill, no matter what. She had warmed to her throughout this past year and now thought of her as one of her own. Next her eyes wandered to Charlie and Percy – both had been separated from the family but in completely different ways. She had always missed Charlie and was appropriately distraught when he told her he would be moving to Romania to pursue his dream of caring for dragons. He was happy there though, so she reluctantly came to peace with it. Percy, however, had chose work over family – left them all with a constant feeling of betrayal towards him and even had the nerve to tell them to stay away from Harry! She hadn't seen him in years and now he had returned just when they all needed to be together. Admittedly, she was still slightly disappointed by him, but she doesn't have the heart to confront him now that he has seen the error of his ways – his siblings can do that for her. Surprisingly, Percy had his arm around George; the one person who she had thought would never forgive him. She knew however, that George needed all the support he could get – having lost Fred...

_Fred_... _Oh god, Fred_...

Fred and George were the terrible twosome, the twins of terror, they were each other's other halves. They had always been the _twins_. Not often recognised as separate people. Even as children they were inseparable, which isn't always the case for identical twins. It hurts her so much that she knows that she'll never see her baby's smile again, never hear his laugh, never see the day he marries the girl of his dreams, never hold his child in her arms... Tears poured down her face, creating new trails through the sweat, blood and muck caked on her face.

_Poor George_.

She knew that George was going to be struggling with grief over losing Fred. They were closer than any other brothers, any other best friends, closer than two people could be – it would be strange to see one without the other. Then there was her Ronnie. Her little boy, who had just travelled all over Britain and helped defeat the darkest wizard of all time, and she was immensely proud of him. Always feeling under-looked compared to his successful brothers and the only girl in the family. She was in worse condition when Ron had left than Percy – she knew there was a possibility that he could never come back. And by looks of things, he had finally discovered his inevitable feelings for Hermione (who she cared for like one of her own, especially now). She was ashamed of how she had treated Hermione after those stupid Rita Skeeter articles and realised that it wasn't Harry she had eyes for but her Ron, the underdog. She was miserable when they had left and in tears all the time, but so had Ginny and they helped each other. She knew though, that Ginny was mostly in fear for Harry. It was so obvious that they were in love with each other – of course, she knew they had dated the past year, but also knew it wasn't just some school fling. She was proud of both of them for this past year. She couldn't be happier for the young couple and was hoping there reunion, whenever that may be, goes smoothly. Harry had just saved the whole wizarding world and she couldn't be more grateful. Ginny had became a strong and confident woman, knowing what she wanted, not cracking under the pressures of the war and protecting herself whilst leading a resistance within the school! All of them, had experienced way too much than they should have, only just being of age and all.

Speaking of those four, she realised she hadn't seen them lately. She knew Ginny was heading for the Gryffindor common room for some sleep, but she hadn't seen Ron, Harry or Hermione since the end of the battle. Taking note of this fact, she looked up to Arthur, and spoke softly in a croaky voice.

"Arthur, dear, I think we should all go to the common room for some rest. Come with me?"

"Of course, dear," he would rather stay than face replays of the past day, but knew Molly really needed him.

Together, they rounded up the boys and walked through the battered hallways towards to Gryffindor tower. Bill had been reluctant to leave, as had Charlie, but they were convinced by the joined persuasive forces of Molly and Fleur. As the large and grieving family approached the common room, Molly realised she had no clue what the password was, and none of her family members would either. Hoping for the best, they came to a stop in front of the Fat Lady.

"WEASLEYS! Welcome, welcome! Been a long time since I've seen you lot!" she exclaimed in a drunken voice.

"Yes, yes it has," Molly replied, forcing a smile, before continuing, "We are terribly sorry but we don't know the password. Could you make an exception?" she asked.

"Oh, of course, of course! You lot are Gryffindor through and through, and deserve a lot for the wizarding world – this is the least I could do!" She swung open, banging against the walls of the common room.

Upon entering the room, two faces covered in grief and dirt looked up. Hermione and Ron were sitting closely on one of the sofas, holding hands. Molly rushed towards them, near tears, and embraced the tightly.

"Oh, I am so proud of you two!" she whispered, as they returned the hug.

"I'm so glad your okay," Ron whispered back.

They hugged for a few more minutes before Molly released them. They were each hugged by the other members of the family before Arthur spoke up.

"Have you seen Harry or Ginny?" he croaked out.

"No, I knew Harry said he was going to sleep but I'm not sure about Ginny, Mr. Weasley," Hermione replied.

Hearing this Molly started up the boy's dormitory stairs, intending on seeing if her 7th surrogate son was okay. She heard a bit of commotion behind her, and turned to see most of the family behind her. As they got to the top of the boy's stair case, she turned to her family.

"Now quiet, he might be sleeping," she whispered.

Opening the door she peeked in, and was shocked at what she saw. She, and all the other family members, saw through the door, Harry snuggled closely up with Ginny; him on his back and her lying almost on top of him. They were changed into pyjamas, clean and _peaceful_. The first time she had seen Ginny peaceful in over a year, and both of them had small smiles on their faces. She heard sniggering behind her, as in her sleep, Ginny snuggled herself more into Harry's side and bury her face in his neck. She knew who was sniggering and who wasn't. Turning, she saw Hermione, Ron, Fleur and George sniggering, Arthur with a slight smile on his face, and Bill, Charlie and Percy trying to look stern and protective but failing rather miserably in her opinion. She knew they were all awaiting her outburst of infamous Molly Weasley rage, but it never came. She simply closed the door and ushered the others to different beds and dorms before resting herself with Arthur in the first year dorms. She highly doubted that any others would be coming to sleep here – she suspected that Minerva may have banned it to allow the saviours of our world some rest.

Snuggling close to Arthur, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep and gave in to the exhaustion she had been feeling all day.


	3. Chapter 3 Going Home

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 3 - Going Home**

A week had passed since the battle. A week had passed since the end of so many lives, both young and old. The Weasleys, Hermione and Harry had all remained at Hogwarts helping repair some of the damage and remove some of the awful memories that were now implanted in their brains. The castle still hosted many families, and most of the staff, despite the fact that most were anxious to return home. It seemed they were either not wanting to face their family homes with someone missing, or trying to help regain the castle to its former glory. In some cases, it was both.

The whole family were gathered together in the common room, only them and a few other Gryffindors remaining. Bill and Fleur were cuddled close in an armchair, Charlie was lying on the floor beside the fire, and George and Percy were sitting together on a sofa talking quietly. Ron was sitting in the matching armchair with Hermione on his lap, Mr and Mrs Weasley were sitting on another sofa close to their children, and Harry was sitting on the floor, his back against the sofa's armrest, with Ginny sitting in between his legs, leaning against his chest. There was a quiet and relaxed mood in the room, but the overhanging sombre feeling from the battle was still there. It was extremely quiet in the common room, and Harry was pretty sure Ginny was asleep, when she spoke softly to her parents.

"When are we going home?" she asked, turning her face to lean sideways on Harry's chest, whilst facing her parents.

Everyone drew silent and their attention was drawn to Mrs Weasley.

She looked around at her children – although, none could be considered a 'child' now – and saw the question in their eyes. Harry watched as Mrs Weasley turned to her husband and seemed to have a silent conversation. After a while, Mr Weasley nodded and Mrs Weasley turned back to face them.

"Well, are you ready to go now?" she questioned.

Harry watched as everyone nodded, some excited to go home, but some with slightly watery eyes.

"What are you waiting for? Go get your things and meet us back down here in about 20 minutes and we'll apparate home."

The many members of the ever-expanding Weasley family slowly stood and made their ways to their respective rooms. Ginny and Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, made their way up to the seventh year boys dorms. After Ginny and Harry had been seen sharing a bed, there had surprisingly no explosion from Mrs Weasley. She had even, to add to the teenagers shock, not only grudgingly allowed Hermione and Ron to share a bed, but gave them her blessing. As they entered the room, they each headed to their own beds. Harry grabbed their things and put them in Hermione's trusty bag.

He turned to see Ginny standing with a tear slowly sliding down her cheek. Looking up and seeing Harry, she tried brushing it away and offering a weak shadow of her shinning smile. He walked towards her and grabbed her in a tight embrace. The ever-observant Hermione noticed their need for privacy.

"We'll meet you downstairs," she said quietly, dragging a confused Ron behind her.

Harry and Ginny remained entwined together. After a few moments, Harry leaned back slightly and tipped up her chin. He cupped her cheek in his hand, wiping the tear marks away with his thumb. She smiled slightly up at him. Closing her eyes, she whispered,

"I love you,"

"I love you too, Gin. Now what's the matter, huh?" he whispered back.

"Nothing, nothing; it's just, now that we're finally going home, I have to admit to myself that Fred isn't ever going to be there anymore. He was always there, you know? Even when they moved out, they still came back every day to steal our food," she whispered back, laughing slightly.

"I completely understand. When we went back to Grimmauld Place last year, I just expected Sirius to jump out of the kitchen or Buckbeak's room or something – it was like it was stating finally that he was not there and never coming back. But I knew that he wouldn't want me to sit around moping and regretting, you helped me realise that. That's how I got through it. And I'm sure Fred would rather us all be getting sloshed on firewhisky and setting of a box of Dr. Filibuster's finest," he ended laughing quietly whilst squeezing her tighter to him.

She laughed too and snuggled her face into his neck, only just reaching even on the tips of her toes.

"Harry, Ginny! Are you ready?" Mrs Weasley called up the stairs.

"Yes! We'll be right down,"

Ginny pulled back and gave Harry and long kiss.

"Thank you,"

"Anytime, love,"

They made their way down the stairs to meet the rest of the family. They lined up, Harry with Ginny wrapped within his arms, and they all apparated to a short distance outside the Burrow. Ginny grasped Harry's hand tightly as they started walking towards her home. He just squeezed it back reassuringly. As they got over the hill, the Burrow was revealed in all it crooked glory, and an overwhelming feel of homely comfort washed over ever participant of the group of war survivors.

It looked relatively undamaged with only a few minor smashed windows, or broken wood panels. Ginny looked at him and through herself at him. He felt his shoulder getting damp and he just stood there, holding her back and stroking her hair, hopefully giving her the comfort he never got. He kissed the top of her head and her ear before gently whispering in her ear,

"I love you Ginny, and I'm here for you,"

"I love you too," she whispered back.

They separated and Ginny wiped away the evidence of her tears. She put on her brave face, grabbed Harry's hand from the arm wrapped around her shoulder, and started walking towards her childhood home.


	4. Chapter 4 Midnight Meetings

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 4 – Midnight Meetings**

Ginny rolled over in her bed, seemingly asleep, her hand searching for the warmth of her boyfriend. Finding nothing but a cold depression of where he had lay, her eyes popped open and she sat up straight. Feeling panicked, she grabbed his robe, the emerald green one with snitches sewed on to it, and she made her way into the hallway. She couldn't hear anything from the bathroom, or any other bedrooms, so she made her way down the crooked stairs, expertly missing the creaking ones. Making her way through the kitchen, she stopped in the doorway seeing a mop of black hair sticking up from over the sofa. She made her way round to him silently. As she got closer, she saw he had the two letters he had received early that day in his hands.

Whilst eating breakfast, a tawny owl had flown in carrying four letters; one to each Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron. In each of their hands, they held the familiar parchment-coloured letters with the ruby red wax seal. They were Hogwarts letters, announcing the reopening and a new year. She had opened hers immediately as had Hermione.

_Dear Miss Weasley,_

_This letter is to announce the reopening of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This would be your final year at Hogwarts, despite the lack of appropriate education this past year. We are giving all students of the last year an opportunity to either repeat the past year or continue on to becoming a seventh year, It is completely your choice._

_We hope to see you soon,_

_Professor Minerva McGonagall_

_Acting Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Ginny assumed that the other's letters were slightly different, with them missing a year and not being there, Probably asking them to come back for seventh year too, Looking at the faces around the table, she saw her mother's determination at them all finishing their education, Hermione's delighted face, Ron unsure and his 'concentration' face, then she saw Harry's blank expression. He was probably unsure of whether to go back or not. To go to the first place he thought as of home, but also, to go back and face the memories that Hogwarts would be sure to remind him of now. All she knew was that she was going to stay with Harry. If Harry didn't want to go back neither would she (even if that meant facing the wrath of her mother). Shortly afterwards, two barn owls flew in, one going to Ron and the other to Harry. Ginny leaned over and read over his arm;

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We heard from the Hogwarts Administrators in your 5__th__ year that you are/were interested in working for the Auror department. In normal circumstances, one would have to have the correct NEWT qualifications in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Charms and Transfigurations. However, following the events of the past year, some exceptions can be made._

_We hope to receive your response shortly. We understand you may have received other invitations – but please consider our offer. It would truly be an honour for you to be in our Auror Training Program._

_Thank You._

_Auror Roberts_

_Head of the Auror Department_

Back in the present, Ginny sat down next to Harry and wrapped a comforting arm around his back. He leaned into her and rested his head against hers.

"Hey. What you doing up?" he whispered.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied.

He sighed before setting down both letters on the sofa and turning and hugging Ginny tightly. She returned his embrace, and they leaned down on the sofa, bodies still entwined. Ginny began running a hand through his raven locks with one hand. He smiled and pulled her closer, kissing her forehead as he did so.

"Those letters are bothering you aren't they," Ginny questioned.

"Hmm..." he hummed in conformation, "It was difficult but I think I know what I'm gonna do.

"Yeah, what?" she asked leaning up on her elbows to look at him, eye to eye.

"I promised that I wouldn't leave you again – and I'm not going to anytime soon. I know your mother isn't going to let you quit school. So that's my decision – I'm going back to Hogwarts. With you," he ended smiling at her.

She smiled at him, but had a slight bit of uncertainty in her eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do? I mean, that Auror job was your dream and it is a hell of an opportunity to miss..." she trailed off, unsure.

"Absolutely, Gin. I love you, and I don't think I could stand another year without out you,"

Ginny brought his mouth against hers, hard. After a few seconds, or minutes, or hours, they broke away, both panting slightly.

Ginny grinned and laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"I love you too. Now go to sleep, you looked knackered," she said, stroking his chest lightly.

His arms wrapped around her and they got comfortable on the sofa. It was only a few moments before Ginny's breathing evened out and she fell asleep. Harry watched her and stroked her hair as she slept. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. He was amazed when he first realised she liked him back – and her literally couldn't believe she wanted him back. After all the hurt he had caused her, she stilled loved him, and for that he was eternally grateful. Soon he drifted off to sleep, with thoughts of the red-headed girl in his arms.

When morning broke, Mrs Weasley made her way down the staircase, checking on each of her children's rooms as she did. Bill and Fleur were asleep in his room and Percy looked prim and proper even when sleeping. In Fred and George's room, George was in his bed, but Fred's bed remained un-slept in; Charlie was sleeping on the floor wrapped in a duvet. He claimed it was because he liked it better and he got used to it in Romania, but she knew that it was out of respect for Fred and trying to keep his memory alive.

When she checked on Ginny's room, she found it relatively un-slept in. Worried she made her way downstairs, ready to shout around the house for them, despite the early hour. Upon entering the living room, she gasped quietly and smiled. She saw Harry lying on the sofa, his arms around Ginny. She pulled a blanket over the two of them before entering the kitchen and grabbing a cup of tea.

She knew she was expected to be the stern and over-protective mother she was famous for, and maybe show off the shouting skills that her sons feared. But honestly, she couldn't. They gave her hope for the future. Their love for each other showed that even after the war that all of her children were involved in at such a young age, they can still find happiness. Wars change people – but it hadn't changed their love.

Stirring out of her thoughts, she watched as her husband wandered in to the kitchen and grab a cup of tea before sitting beside her.

"Morning Molly-Wobbles,"

"Morning, dear,"

"You do know Harry and Ginny are in the living room, yes?"

"Yes, dear, don't they look sweet?"

"They're so in love. I suspect it won't be long before you have another wedding to plan, my dear,"

"That may be true, but it better not be for at least another year or two," she replied getting up, and starting to retrieve various pans from spots about the kitchen.

"Now, would you mind getting some eggs from the coop, dear? Those boys of ours will undoubtedly be down here and tearing apart the kitchen for food soon."


	5. Chapter 5 Four Funerals Part 1

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 5 – Four Funerals Part 1**

Harry awoke to the first signs of sunlight pouring through the window, onto the bed where he lay. He was blissfully unaware of the time or day, for that matter, simply revelling in the delicious feeling of Ginny's body snuggled almost completely on top of his. He smiled softly encircled her more tightly in his arms. He was yet to open his eyes, as he thought the beautiful image of his beloved would overpower his other senses; he could feel her warmth along the length of his body, he could feel the soft bundle of red which was her hair, and smell the summer flowers which emanated from her bouncing curls. He enjoyed this part most of all in the mornings. The part where every other aspect in his world tumbled into obliviousness, and he simply gloried in the most shining part of his life; Ginny. He was tremendously grateful that Mrs Weasley understanding and, strangely, care-free about him sharing a bed, and consequently, room with her youngest daughter. Mrs Weasley seemed to be trying to have a less stressful life and gracing every bit of happiness as if she had just won the Wizarding Lottery. In normal circumstances, this would seem the epitome of strange and she would probably be questioned as to why she was acting so unlike herself. But however, these were not normal circumstances. At that thought, Harry's fun filled with sudden dread, and a cold swirling feeling developed in his stomach, as he was dragged abruptly out of his blissful ignorance and back into the real world. Today was the day;

The day of Fred Weasley's funeral.

Harry groaned with dread but became silenced and frozen again as the petite red head in his arms stirred. He did not want to wake her right now. He wanted to allow her to have a pleasant wake up also, and not realising that today was the today she said goodbye to one of her brothers. Looking out the window and seeing the sun just peeking on the horizon, he realised it had barely turned 5 am. He tried shutting his eyes, and trying to cling to the wonderful, oblivious state he had been in only moments ago. His attempts, unfortunately, were useless. Now his mind was whirling; he remembered - memories of Fred flashing through his head, he remembered that Mrs Weasley's boggart was one of her family dead, and above all, the expected devastation he would feel seeing his adopted family in such distress. He was shook out of his thoughts however, when Ginny started to wake and nuzzled his chest and stroked his chest before wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling her face into his neck. He used the pads of his fingers to lightly massage her back. She purred into his ear.

"Good morning, love," he whispered.

"Hmmm... That it is..."

She lifted herself up slightly and lay fully on top of him, while resting her head on her overlapped hands, looking at him. She blinked a few times, ridding the sleep from her eyes.

"Hello," he said, laughing softly.

"Hi," she replied smiling, before leaning up and kissing him passionately.

He pulled her tighter to him. The two eventually broke the kiss, and Ginny sighed happily before going back to her previous position. Looking up at him, Ginny just smiled softly as she scanned her eyes over his features. Ginny's smile suddenly faltered and Harry realised where her thoughts had lead her to. He stroked back her hair and placed behind her ear, as he eyes appeared a bit watery and she sighed and buried her face in his chest.

"It's today isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is,"

"What am I gonna do?"

"You, my love, are going to get up, go have a shower and get through this day with me by your side and with the thought that you know that Fred is in a happy place, that he is happy,"

"I guess..." she started to get up and made to get towards the bathroom. She was quickly interrupted by Harry flipping her back on to the mattress.

"Harry!" she laughed.

"Wait, I need the loo first!" He said and she laughed again as he made a weird walk across the hall.

She sighed and stretched on her bed, before curling into a ball. She snuggled a pillow to her face and relaxed as she smelt the familiar scent that was purely Harry. She knew that today was going to be hard. Having to finally admit that her brother was never coming back... Silent tears dripped from her eyes wetting the pillow. But she also knew that she would have Harry at her side throughout the day, giving her love and support. She scrubbed her face on the pillow, and got up when she heard the toilet flush across the hall. Meeting Harry in the hall, she gave he a quick kiss before walking in to the bathroom and turning on the shower.

Afterwards, she stepped out, turning of the steaming hot water and wrapped her dressing gown around herself. Looking in the mirror, she grabbed her wand and performed a drying spell on her hair and body – one of the things she was thankful for was the Ministry had loosened up a bit on underage magic while so many were helping rebuild the wizarding world. She walked into her room and saw Harry just slipping on a jumper. He stood and made his way towards the door where she stood, a weak smile on his face.

"Just get some casual clothes on for breakfast, we'll dress properly nearer the time," he said, putting his hands on her waist and lifting her so she was inside the room and he was in the doorway.

Just as he was about to leave, Ginny gripped his arm.

"Wait for me?"

"Of course, love,"

Harry stood outside the room in the hallway as Ginny got dressed. A few minutes later, she appeared in what looked like one of his old Christmas jumpers and some jeans. She slipped her hand into his and they made their way down to the kitchen for breakfast. When they entered the kitchen, not unsurprisingly, no one was there.

"I guess everyone is still sleeping,"

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Come on, Gin. I'll show you my amazing cooking skills," Harry sat her down in one of the chairs and slid a cup of tea over to her.

"Since when could you cook?" she asked sipping her tea.

"Well, always really," he replied, pulling out some pans and some eggs, "my aunt made me cook breakfast for them as long as I can remember,"

"Harry, that's awful!"

"Not really. Well, I mean, making a little kid cook is but I learnt a lot about cooking," he replied whilst pulling out from various spices from her mother's spice cupboard.

Ginny let her anger at his muggle relative's treatment of him stew, but relaxed as she watched his fluent movements around the kitchen. After a few minutes of idle chat and comfortable silence, filled with delicious smells, Harry turned around with two plates of food. He slid one to Ginny then sat opposite and grabbed a plate himself. Ginny took her first bite of the omelette, and moaned in pleasure as a swarm of flavour filled her mouth and overwhelmed her senses.

"Harry, this is amazing!" she said before stuffing another bite into her mouth ravenously.

Harry laughed and nudged his foot against hers.

"Slow down! I never thought I would see a good competitor for Ron when it came to eating!"

Ginny through a napkin at him but laughed all the same, "Shut it, you!" and the two continued eating. By the time they were finished, they were joined by all the very sombre members of the Weasley family. It was strange; no banter, no smiles. The only thing that wasn't different was that it was breakfast. Even one of the family members was missing. It wasn't right. But then again, nothing about this day was right.

By noon, the family were preparing to go down to the chosen burial site for Fred. Harry waited in the living room with a comforting arm around Ron. Harry was wearing a black suit with matching black shirt and tie. Ron had the same suit but a white shirt. George had decided for muggle clothes. Something different, something unusual – exactly what Fred would've wanted. Harry guessed that George had planned something for later as well. His thoughts were interrupted when Ron nudged Harry and tilted his head towards the stairs. Ginny and Hermione were descending the staircase. Hermione was wearing a black dress, but any other details of her outfit were not absorbed as all his thoughts were on the red-haired girl next to her. Ginny was wearing a silk and lace black dress that came to a respectable above-the-knee length. She was wearing a plain black cardigan as well as some heels, which brought the top of her head to just under his nose. She had her hair tied in a elegant knot on top of her head, displaying the splattering of freckles on her neck. Harry thought she looked gorgeous. Ginny thought likewise of him; the suit fitted him perfectly and the charcoal made his slightly spiked (probably due to some attempt at flattening it) seem even darker, making his emerald eyes stand out even more so.

Despite the occasion, Harry went over to her, kissed her softly and wrapped his arms around her whilst breathing in the intoxicating scent of her hair.

"I love you, Gin,"

"Love you too. Now let's start walking,"

The four, as well as the other Weasleys, walked to just outside the Burrow's boundary and too the group of gathering friends, family and co-workers. The family, Harry and Hermione included, went and stood near the grave and coffin, near Kingsley who was performing the ceremony. George, as well as Molly, Ginny and Hermione already had tears streaming down their faces. Harry, Ron and the other Weasley males were trying to remain stony faced, but failing miserably. Kingsley began speaking.

"Friends, family, I am here to perform the funeral of Fred Weasley. This is one of the many funerals I've had to perform these past weeks, which should not have to be performed. Fred had his time cut short – he was cheated from his life. But he did not die in vain. He died a hero, and his contribution to the war will never be forgotten and will always be appreciated. Despite only living for the unfairly short 20 years, he certainly left a mark. The now national famous Wizard Wheezes is a memory as to his contribution to the Wizarding world and the true pleasure he got from making others laugh. Not just an incredibly successful business man, Fred was a brother, a son, a cousin, a grandchild, a friend. Fred has influenced and inspired many lives and it is certain he will be sorely missed,"

Just as Kingsley finished his speech, everyone was in tears, even the usually loud and judgemental Great Aunt Muriel was sniffling over a tissue, a great bang was heard from above. Thousands of lights poured from the sky depicting images of Fred's life. The guest watched with tears in their eyes but smiles on their faces, Ginny hugged Harry whilst laughing and watching the display. The show ended with a huge picture of Fred and the same words from his gravestone in the air;

'_FRED WEASLEY_

_1 April, 1978 - 2 May, 1998_

_Mischief Managed'_


	6. Chapter 6 Four Funerals Part 2

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 6 – Four Funerals Part 2**

The crisp morning of autumn was glorified by the beaming rays of golden sun and the warm temperature bearing down on the rickety home at the bottom of the hill. The warm and carefree atmosphere was, however, the complete opposite of the outlook of the day. Today was the day of not only, Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin, but also Colin Creevey. Today was a day, where Ginevra Weasley could see no happy aspects. She was currently standing in her room, getting ready for the first funeral of the day – Colin.

Colin was always a friend, the equivalent of a Hermione, Neville, Luna or Ron. He was always there for her when she needed him. He had been one of her best friends, ironically drawn together by the infatuation of the boy-who-lived. Of course in different ways, Colin didn't _fancy_ Harry – more just an avid fan. The two had become best friends. He was her number two. It was going to be so hard to get through his funeral. She was just hoping that she could get through the day without collapsing onto Harry with grief. Not only Colin; today was also the funeral of the Lupin's.

Ginny had not been that close to Remus, but she knew how important he was too Harry; the last remaining link to his father. But Tonks, however... She had been a great friend. She was her only escape when Hermione wasn't there when they were cooped up in Grimmauld Place – she helped her with Harry, helped her escape the miserable atmosphere, and helped her cope with her father's accident. She was a brilliant friend and she was unfortunately there to witness her death; the memories still haunted her. She ran after Tonks, who had rushed ahead, and arrived just in time to see the garish green light strike Remus in the chest. She saw Bellatrix cackling in glee, but unfortunately Tonks had not. She screamed and ran to Remus, collapsing next to him, tears pouring down her face, begging him not to be dead. Bellatrix saw her opportunity and threw another killing curse, killing off another of her '_disowned traitor'_ family. Ginny witnessed it in horrified silence. She was going to get help, when Voldemort spoke and Bellatrix, as well as all death eaters, apparated back to their master. She knew Tonks' funeral was going to be particularly difficult for that reason.

Sighing, she brought herself back to reality as she put on some plain earrings. She was wearing the same outfit she had worn for Fred's funeral; black dress, black shoes, black heels. She didn't have many mourning outfits (for which, on some level, she was grateful of), but as this were traditional wizarding funerals, she slipped a black robe over her dress, which thankfully had a built in cooling charm, otherwise she was pretty sure she would faint from the heat.

She met Harry down stairs and saw he and Ron had also just pulled some robes over their suits from Fred's funeral. Harry looked handsome as ever. They waited together until the remainder of the Weasley family, and then walked in silence past Fred's grave to just outside the Burrow's boundary. Harry wrapped his arms tightly around her and she buried her face into his chest as he apparated the two to the burial site for Colin. Breathing in deeply the scent that was so purely Harry, she recoiled her arms and grabbed his hand as the two walked towards the seats, that lead to the grave. The quartet grabbed seats near Neville, who had a vaguely familiar girl on his arm, and Luna, who surprisingly was sitting very close to Dean. Ginny and Harry held hands as they sat, Harry nearest to Neville.

"Hey guys," Neville said, smiling sadly at the group. They hadn't seen him since the battle, but he seemed no worse for wear.

"Hi Neville,"

"Hi Luna, Dean," they nodded in return of the greeting, seemingly off somewhere else as they gazed to the daunting grave in front of them.

"Guys, this is Hannah," Neville introduced the girl, who was clutching his arm. She smiled – her dark blonde hair was worn down and feathered at the front. She had two crystal blue eyes, and a round face that looked a lot like Neville's. Her face looked familiar and Ginny knew she had seen her somewhere...

"Hannah, nice to meet you," Harry replied, smiling at the girl.

"You too,"

"Hannah... Are you Hannah Abbott?" Hermione asked, inquisitively.

"Yep, that's me; Hufflepuff, came to DA. It's great to meet you guys – just unfortunate that it has to happen in such a sad situation. I was around last year and at the battle – I was there when Colin..." she trailed off tearing up a bit, and Neville wrapped an arm around her waist.

The group sat in relative silence. Harry had his arm around Ginny, sensing her need for comfort, Hermione and Ron were holding hands, Neville was whispering comfortingly into Hannah's ear and Luna and Dean were also holding hands. Ginny had no clue if there was anything going on with Dean and Luna; she'd have to investigate later. It was fairly obvious that Hannah and Neville were in a relationship, or at least leading towards one by the body language that the couple had already displayed.

Ginny lent her head on Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes, she hadn't got much sleep last night, not that it was unexpected. Even Harry's calming presence and even breaths couldn't lull her into a dreamless slumber, she was however, relaxed simply by his presence. She didn't like being away from him – after losing him for over a year, she didn't want to let go of him again. It was like he was her oxygen; she literally needed him to live, to be herself. She was definitely sure she wouldn't be sleeping most nights unless Harry was there. She opened her eyes when Harry tapped her shoulder, and she saw the members of the Creevey family solemnly walking towards their seats, and Colin's father, uncle, cousins and Dennis carrying the casket. She stood with others, gripping tightly to Harry, and calmed as he rubbed her back and squeezed her hand.

Throughout the ceremony, the eerie silence was disrupted by the occasional loud sob. As Ginny listened to the eulogy, silent tears slowly crawled down her face. She heard the repeated speech from Kingsley, and thought how true his words were – 'they shouldn't be having these funerals.' She was absolutely certain that if Harry weren't here, she too would be falling apart. She was thankful for his reassuring presence, and was so appreciative that he was remaining strong for her, being her rock, even when she knew this was effecting him too.

After the ceremony was over, the four apparated back to the Burrow, walking past and spending a moment at Fred's grave, before collapsing together spread throughout the living room. Ginny curled up next to Harry, tucking her hand under his shoulder and leaning her head on his chest. He sighed and ran his hand down her hair. Ron had slumped on a chair, Hermione sitting on top of him, curled sideways with her head under his chin – her hair wasn't an issue thanks to the new sleek-ease formula Fred and George had created during their sixth year. Despite the insignificance of the hair product, Hermione had become slightly teary when she found it – it was crazy, but then so is war.

"How long till Remus and Tonks'?" Ron asked bluntly, sighing.

Harry looked at Fabien Prewett's wrist watch, "About 2 and half hours."

Hermione buried her face into Ron's chest, "I don't know if I can cope with this," she whispered hopelessly.

"Yes, you can. As can we. This is going to be ridiculously hard, but trust this coming from the guy who spent most of the start of my fifth year being a moping arse,"

Ginny giggled at Harry's statement. It seemed he had finally accepted that he was being a git.

"If you focus on the bad points in life, or simply that the fact something's changed, or that we lost someone, you going to spend your days doubting yourself and just thinking that it is your fault. Concentrate on the good aspects of life, and those of who we've lost. I know your probably all thinking I'm the worst kind of hypocrite ever for lecturing you on this, but I got a good telling off from Kingsley, McGonagall, and just about anyone who we've come across these past years, and I've realised that we'll never get over the deaths of our loved ones if we wallow on bad things. When I remember those who we lost, I remember Colin as the excitable, happy, confident photographer, I remember Tonks as the crazy, wacky, strong metamorphmagous, who doesn't judge and has a big heart. I'll remember Remus as the secret prankster, the loving father, husband and good, caring man he is. I remember Fred as the confident joker, loving, caring, fun-filled brother he was,"

By the end of his speech, the other three members of the room were staring at him in awe. Hermione and Ron were sitting with their mouths hanging open and Hermione had a tear trickling down her cheek. Ginny smiled at him and pulled his head to hers in a passionate kiss.

Ron coughed awkwardly continuously until a slap round the head from Hermione stopped him. Harry and Ginny were completely oblivious to the others; they were concentrating on only each other. Ginny tried to convey all her emotions on the man in front of her. Eventually, the two parted as the need for oxygen became over-whelming. The two stared at each other, and whispered 'I love you' before turning back to their companions. Turned out, the kiss had lasted longer than expected and Hermione and Ron had, in fact, left.

The two looked at each other and laughed before setting off to find them.

Harry sat at the front of the cemetery; to his left were Ginny, Hermione and Ron. To his right were Andromeda Tonks and his tiny godson, Teddy Lupin. Ginny was gripping his hand tightly, Harry turned to face Andromeda.

"Mrs. Tonks..." he started.

"Please, call me Andie. Mrs. Tonks is my mother-in-law," she interrupted with a sad smile.

Harry returned the smile.

"I just wanted to apologise for not being here to help with Teddy these past weeks, and I will make it up to you. And I also wanted to say, if you ever need any help with Teddy or anything, don't be afraid to ask,"

"Harry, dear, there is nothing to apologise for. I understand you were busy, but I'll be sure to take up you offer – Teddy can be quite a handful. Would you like to hold him?"

Harry nodded nervously, yet eagerly. Andie showed him how to support his neck then passed the blue haired baby to him. Upon setting his little eyes on him, Teddy squealed adorably and his hair suddenly became a messy mop of black and his eyes emerald green. Andie and Ginny laughed.

"He must like you, Harry," Andie said, laughing again as Teddy grabbed Harry's finger.

Harry passed Teddy back to his Grandmother as the ceremony started. Teddy started to cry, as if he knew what was happening. A sombre feeling spread through the mourners and coldness seeped into Harry's bones. Kingsley gave another inspiring speech speaking of the twos selflessness and how their love for each other and their son spurred them on. Everyone was in tears by the end of the service.

Harry was hugging and comforting his distressed godson, Molly was talking Andie.

"Andie, dear, I insist,"

"But Molly, I don't want to be any bother..."

"Trust me dear, no bother at all,"

"Well, if you're sure,"

"Absolutely,"

"Okay then. Harry, could you take Ted back with you to the Burrow? We're staying for a while with you," Andie called.

"'Kay," he replied, before offering his arm to Ginny and clutching his now once again black-haired, now cooing godson before apparating back to the Burrow.


	7. Chapter 7 A Godfather's Duties

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 7 – A Godfather's Duties**

"WAAAAHHH!"

The screech of discomfort rang through the rickety home; all rooms however were silenced apart from the one bedroom opposite the bathroom on the first floor. The two occupants of the room groaned and Ginny buried her head in the crook of Harry's neck, while folding the pillow over her ear. Harry sighed before groggily slipping out of bed and shuffling to the door, grabbing his wand and robe as he did so.

Andromeda and Teddy had been staying at the Burrow for little over two weeks. They had settled in rather well, and now were just seen as any other members of the family and not guests. After a week, and seeing Andie looking awfully tired at the breakfast table, Harry had offered for him to check and deal with Teddy during the night. They alternated days whilst silencing the others room (so as to at least allow others to sleep). Andie wasn't as tired, had a bit more energy. Harry loved his godson very much, but he was tired of getting up at ungodly hours.

Harry had just stepped in front of Bill's room, now occupying only Teddy. Fleur and Bill had moved back to Shell cottage last Wednesday to the slight annoyance of Mrs. Weasley, but she understood, grudgingly, that they needed their space. Harry turned the door knob, lifting the door as he did so making sure the door didn't creak, and walked in the room. An old cot of the Weasleys now inhabited the disgruntled baby, his blue hair was sticking up at odd angles and his eyes were red and puffy as he sat looking through the bars. He stopped crying when Harry entered the room, and now was only whimpering. Harry moved over to his godson, lifting him into his arms, wiping the tears from Teddy's cheeks with one hand. His godson shoved his cheek into Harry's palm and clutched his robe in his tiny fists.

"Da," he cooed, tucking his head on his godfather's shoulder. The first time he called Harry 'Da', he kind of freaked out. He loved Teddy, but he didn't want to feel like he was replacing Remus. Molly, however, soothed his worries, explaining that babies only babble sounds until they can learn proper names and how to speak. Andie also told Harry that, because of his rare magical ability, he may develop faster than an ordinary child.

"You're incredibly cute, little man," Harry softly said, swaying and placing his head upon Teddy's.

He remained doing so, until Harry was sure he was asleep – he then placed him back in the crib, stroking his hair, which turned into a black-mop and Harry chuckled. Just as he was about to the leave the room, he heard Teddy again.

"Da!" he called from the crib.

Harry sighed and turned back to the baby, and repeated the swaying again. This time Harry made it to the steps, when he heard his persistent godson.

"DA!"

He groaned quietly and turned back to go to the room. He lifted Teddy and asked him,

"Why do you not want to go to sleep, Ted?" The infant clutched to him tightly.

"Ta," he babbled, chewing on Harry's robes, and looking up with wide eyes. How could he say no to that?

He grabbed Teddy's stuffed wolf from his crib and left the room, stepping back to the first floor landing. He opened the door to his and Ginny's room, and at the noise, Ginny turned to face the door. Tiredly, she raised an eyebrow at him at the sight of Teddy in his arms.

"Got room for one more?" Harry asked, moving towards the bed.

"Sure, why not," she replied, budging over right next to the wall that boarded her side of the bed, allowing him and Teddy to get in the bed comfortably.

Harry placed a spell on his side of the bed, making sure Teddy couldn't and wouldn't fall off the edge, before lying back with Teddy on his chest. The baby nestled his into the crook of Harry's neck, clutching his wolf in his other hand. He popped an eye open, saw Ginny, and his hair turned to a mixture of fiery red and raven black to which Ginny laughed softly.

"Got room for me, Potter?" she teased.

"Always," he replied, holding up his free arm, allowing Ginny to snuggle under it, leaning her head on his arm, and resting her right hand on her boyfriend's stomach.

"Night, Gin," Harry whispered, exhausted.

"Night, love,"

"Love you,"

"Love you, too," she whispered before slipping into a deep slumber.

Teddy woke once more during the night, but seeing and sensing his favourite aunt and uncle's presence, he went back to sleep.

The next morning, Andie walked down the creaking staircase to collect her grandson from his room. When she arrived outside the room on the third landing, she surprisingly heard no noise, nothing, not even his adorable cooing. Worried, she pulled open the door her eyes widened and her face gained a shocked expression. She couldn't see Teddy anywhere, and his favourite toy was also missing. A streak of fear coursed through her body, but before turning into an irrational mess, she decided to check the house first, and then, if necessary, panic. She knew from personal experience that it was particularly straining caring for young metamorphoraguses – raising Nymphadora was extremely difficult, especially for a first-time mother; she tended to disappear, camouflaging with her surroundings, or change her appearance when in public, the most straining times were when herself or Ted, whilst in the middle of doing something, jump at their daughter morphing into a human-shaped hippogriff. She could laugh now, remembering her daughter growing blue tinted grey feathers and sprouting a yellow beak, but at the time, they'd had no idea what to do. It took the pair at least an hour to convince her to change back.

Andie made her way down to the kitchen, intending to work up from the ground floor, to the sixth, but was interrupted by a busy Molly cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Molly, seeing her worry, perhaps, flicked her wand, causing breakfast to continue making itself and walked over to Andie.

"What's wrong, Andie?" she asked kindly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Teddy's missing," she stated worriedly.

"What do you mean?" Molly asked, confused.

"He's not in his crib, or anywhere in his room," she explained.

"Right – well, we better not stand around then. Don't worry we'll find him, Fr...Fred and George used to hide in all sorts of places," she stuttered over Fred's name, but brushed passed it, smiling reassuringly at a stressed Andromeda.

"I'll check down here, and you work up the floors, I'll join you once I've checked the living room and pantry,"

"Pantry?"

"You'd be surprised how often I had found Ginny or the twins in there, hiding, when they were younger," she smiled as she made her way to the living room.

Slightly baffled, Andie made her way up the staircase, she checked the bathroom, but seeing no Teddy, closed the door. Cautiously, she gently opened the door leading to Ginny's room. The scene before her flooded her body with warmth and a swift sense of relief. Harry was lying with his back flat on the bed, his head resting on top of Ginny's, with one arm wrapped around a sleeping Ginny, who was using his arm as a pillow and resting her hand on his stomach, whilst his other hand was on the back of Teddy, who was lying on his stomach on Harry's chest, one hand clutching his wolf. They looked adorable, and Teddy had morphed his hair to a mixture of black and red, obviously thinking of the other two occupants of the room. She smiled at the three of them and turned when she heard Molly on the stairs.

"He's not downstairs..." Molly trailed off, seeing Andromeda's smile.

"I found him," she said quietly, "I feel stupid – should've known Harry would have him,"

Molly peered around the door and smiled at the scene before her. She sighed, and cupped her hands at her heart, and turned back to go towards the kitchen with a smile gracing her features. Andie followed; Teddy looked peaceful and she didn't want to disturb Harry.

_He really is a great godfather_, she thought as she sipped her coffee.

The next time Harry woke was at the usual time. He was comfortable, and for the first time in his life, content. He had one arm wrapped around the love of his life, and the other around his precious godson. He breathed in deeply, which caused Teddy to stir on his chest. The baby rubbed his eyes with his chubby fists and his small mouth turned into an 'O' shape as it stretched into a yawn. He blinked his blue eyes for a moment and then looked up to his godfather, leaning on his elbows.

"Hey there little fella," Harry said in a quiet tone whilst rubbing the boy's back.

Teddy smiled at his godfather, and then rolled on top of Ginny. His big eyes then turned to the other occupant of the bed and his hair turned bright red.

"Ga!" he exclaimed loudly, before reaching for Ginny's hair and consequently landing his knee is her gut.

Ginny released an 'Ooof' then gently pried a lock of her fiery hair from the infant's strong grip.

"Hey Teddy-bear," she said, laughing and stroking back his hair.

Teddy bounced up and down on the bed between Harry and Ginny. Harry reached out a hand and tickled Teddy's stomach. Teddy collapsed in a fit of giggles, and Ginny sat up and laughed at the two.

When Teddy screamed, "Da!", he stopped his mad tickle attack. When Harry's stomach growled, Teddy giggled again and poked Harry's middle. Harry swept Teddy into his arms, standing and sliding on his slippers.

"Alright, Mister, time for some breakfast," he held out one hand to Ginny, who grabbed it and used it to pull herself out of bed. She stood on her tiptoes and gave Harry a quick kiss, before slipping on her robe and walking towards the door. Harry smiled after her.

"Well, are you just going to stand there or are you gonna go and get some food?" she smirked at him and made her way down the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8 Blissful Birthdays Part 1

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 8 – Blissful Birthdays Part 1**

Harry jogged up from the lane leading to the Burrow, finishing his morning jog. As he entered the Burrow's ground, he stopped and dropped into some push-ups. He started exercising each morning, when possible, for a few reasons. Mainly so he would be in relatively good shape, when or if he decided join the Aurors, but also, just to keep fit. It also helped him clear his head, running through the countryside, and escaping in to a world of his own. After finishing his sit-ups he headed inside to the kitchen and found Ginny and Mrs Weasley cooking breakfast and Hermione reading the Daily Prophet as she always did despite the consistent lies they wrote. If Harry remembered correctly she had said '_Well, even if they are lying we should at least know what they're lying about._' Chuckling, he walked in to the kitchen, and waltzed by the occupants of the kitchen, kissing Ginny's cheek which made her smile, dodging a busy Mrs Weasley and finally grabbing a glass of water.

"Morning Harry,"

"Morning 'Mione. What am I supposedly doing this week?" he asked gesturing to the Daily Prophet, whilst gulping down his water.

"You are," she started, briefly scanning the page, "apparently holding a ball in celebration of your birthday inviting close family and friends including all of the heads of departments and only the most esteemed witches and wizards of our world today," she said factually.

Harry laughed, "On some level, I should be happy they have to make up so many lies – at least they don't actually know me," he said, before walking out the kitchen and up the stairs.

Moments later, they could hear the shower turn on. Hermione sighed, before cupping her tea in her hands. She was being uncommonly quiet, and Ginny noticed.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Ginny asked kindly, sitting across from the older girl.

"I feel bad," she answered dejectedly.

"What? Why?"

"Because I've been enjoying having nothing to do, nothing to worry about, finally for the first time in about 7 years, and I completely forgot about my parents!" she exclaimed before allowing her head to fall into her hands.

"Oh, Hermione," she reached out a hand, "I'm sure that we can go get your parents really soon. And don't feel bad, with all the funerals, and ceremonies it's no surprise you forgot,"

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, showing her face that had tear lines visible on her features.

"Of course – I'm sure we could arrange the whole thing within a few hours. And you know, if you, Harry and Ron turn up at the Ministry, you'll get whatever you need in a matter of minutes, with you being the heroes of the Wizarding world and all,"

"Thanks, Ginny," she said sincerely, wiping her cheeks, "We should do that soon, I'll feel worse if I majorly postpone it now that I have a plan," she finished wiping any traces of tears, and made her way upstairs.

Later that day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were lounging around in the front room, just talking and not doing much, when Hermione brought up the subject that she and Ginny spoke of this morning.

"Hey guys, I was talking about going to get my parents early this morning with Ginny," she started, waiting for their nods, "and I was wondering if you three would accompany me to the Ministry to ask for some assistance. You don't have to come on the trip, I know you mother would never let you, Ginny, but I just need the support at the Ministry,"

"Of course we'll come, 'Mione, we stick together through thick and thin," Harry replied.

"Do you even need to ask?" Ron smirked.

"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Hermione happily, hugging Ron, then Harry and Ginny, who was sitting on Harry's lap.

"Listen Hermione," Harry began, "I think you and Ron should go together. I mean, you guys haven't really had anytime alone since, well, never. It'd be good for you two; I'll stay with Gin. And I don't care what you say; I'm paying for everything on the trip,"

"Harry, are you sure? It's an awful lot..."

"Seriously, Hermione, I have more than enough," he reassured his friend.

Ron looked towards Hermione awkwardly, "Do you want me to come?"

"Of course I do!" Hermione stated looking at him, wondering why he thought she wouldn't.

"Right, that's settled then. We could go to the Ministry now if you like?" Ginny asked her bushy haired friend.

After all agreeing, the quartet walked into the kitchen where they found Mrs Weasley.

"Oh, Harry, dear! Just the man I was looking for! I was meaning to ask you what you wanted to do for your birthday, not far off now – oh, and you too Ginny," she asked, whilst walking round the kitchen doing various things.

"Umm... I'm not sure to be honest..." Harry trailed off, looking at Ginny

"We could have a joint party in-between our birthdays? Its only eleven days difference anyways,"

"I like that idea, invite a few friends, family. A small thing, maybe a barbeque," Harry suggested.

"What's a barb-que?" asked Ron, confused.

"I'll explain later," Hermione told him quietly, stroking his hand with her thumb.

"That sounds lovely dears. Now where are you lot off too?" Mrs Weasley inquired, whilst flicking her wand, making the dishes start to scrub themselves.

"We were going to head down to the Ministry and talked to Kingsley about Hermione's parents," Ron told her.

"Be careful, and say hello to your father if you see him. Oh, and do put on some robes," she called, and passed them some robes before they entered the fireplace.

Harry grabbed a fistful of floo powder and yelled, "MINISTRY OF MAGIC!" before being engulfed in the green flames.

He shot out of the fireplace, thankfully un-noticed and grabbed Ginny's hand whilst following the other two. He kept his head low and tried to blend in with the crowd, but when two people you were with had the brightest red hair imaginable, it was very difficult. Luckily, they were almost at the Minister's office when they were noticed.

"It's Harry Potter!

"Mr Potter, what are you doing with life now?"

"Are you joining the Aurors?"

"No ring on Ms. Weasley's finger?"

"Mr Potter, is it true you're joining the Chudley Cannons?"

"Are you interested in sponsoring our new broom polish, Mr Potter?"

Kingsley, hearing the commotion, opened his door and ushered in the four, before ordering in his booming voice "Mr Potter and I would appreciate if you would drop the questions today and leave him at peace," No-one wanted to anger the Minister so slowly and reluctantly, they all left. Kingsley turned back to the four.

"Now, what can I do for you?" he asked kindly.

Hermione stepped forward and looked at Kingsley and began speaking with a hopeful expression.

"I need some assistance on finding my parents in Australia. I obliviated them at the start of the year so as to protect them somewhat," she explained.

"Money is not an issue," Harry added, and Hermione shot him a grateful smile.

"I see," Kingsley said, and was silent for a few minutes, deep in thought, before turning to Hermione, "I am able to get some Aurors to accompany you on your journey and I'll send someone from Muggle relations to go along with you. Hopefully, we shall be able to find your parents in no time, Miss Granger," he smiled at the girl.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!"

"That is quite alright, Miss Granger, any preferable leaving date?"

"Umm... When are you guys having your party?" she asked Harry and Ginny.

Harry looked at Ginny, not minding and allowing her to decide, "The fifth or the sixth probably," Ginny supplied.

"If it's alright, could we plan for the eighth? That way we won't miss your party and will have a few more days to get ready," Hermione

"Certainly, I'll be in touch," Kingsley said, offering a hand for her to shake.

Just as they were leaving Harry turned to Kingsley,

"Thanks Kingsley, for doing this,"

"No problem, Harry,"

"Would you like to come to the party? It's just friends and family,"

"I would love to," he replied smiling.

"Great, I'll send you an owl. Thanks again," he called as they departed the Office.

Hermione was grinning and hugging the others as they made their way back to the Burrow.

On the morning of Harry's birthday, he was happily woken by the soft kisses of his girlfriend. His eyes remained closed but a smile graced his features as Ginny stroked his chest and placed feather-light kisses on his neck. Harry did open his eyes when she kissed him passionately on the lips. He returned the kiss gladly, but after a while they reluctantly parted. Ginny smiled down at him, and gave him a soft peck.

"Happy Birthday," she whispered, grinning.

"If the rest of the day is gonna be like this, it'll be the happiest of birthdays," he said before pulling her into another kiss.

After a few moments, before things got too heated, the two separated again; Ginny wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

"So how does it feel to be eighteen?"

"Not much different from normal to be honest," Harry chuckled, and Ginny smiled.

"I suppose we should get up," Ginny sighed, breaking the silence that had fell over the two.

Harry sighed too, "I guess you're right," he removed one hand from Ginny's back to rub his face.

The two untangled themselves and Harry went to get changed. They met up again a few minutes later (Harry simply watched Ginny for a few minutes and admired her outfit; an emerald green halter top accompanied by some dark short jeans) and walked down the stairs together. When they entered the room, a roar erupted.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!"

Harry grinned; all the Weasleys were perched around various places in the kitchen, still clad in pyjamas. He was mostly shocked to see Ron and George looking somewhat alive despite the early hour (for them – they both slept in, even sometimes missing breakfast). Mrs Weasley was standing by the cooker, George, Ron, Percy and Mr Weasley were sitting at the table, Bill and Fleur were standing by the door and talking to Charlie who was perched on one of the worktops.

"Thanks guys," Harry said to the room, still grinning.

"Come on Harry, presents!" Ron shouted enthusiastically, gesturing wildly to a large pile of multicoloured presents at the end of the table.

"Let him breathe, Ronald," Hermione chided.

George laughed at his brother's disgruntled look, which earned him a glare, consequently just making him laugh harder. George had really progressed well after the loss of Fred. It was still, understandably, a sensitive topic, but he was able to laugh and joke around as he used to. He had said that Fred wouldn't want them to be crying all the time, but to be celebrating that the horrible 'Dark Tosser' (as George and Fred nicknamed him) was gone.

Ginny tugged on Harry's hand and pushed him into a seat near the presents. Harry stared in awe at the amazing collection of presents. He had never received this many presents; at the Dursley's he would be lucky to be given an old coat hanger.

"Well, are you going to open them, or just stare at them?" George teased, smirking slightly.

Taking this as an instruction to open them, Harry dove into the pile, ripping the paper excitedly. He received a box of homemade goodies from Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ron had managed to get him tickets to the next Chudley Cannons match against Puddlemere. Bill and Fleur had bought him some new clothes (he guessed Fleur did most of the purchasing), Hermione had got him some new Defence books and one titled '_A_ _Graduate's Guide to Becoming an Auror_'. Charlie had got him a black dragon scale jacket, he got some Weasley products from George and Percy had bought him a book on the Ministry, which he truly hoped he would never, ever use. He had one thin, rectangular present left signed by from all the Weasleys; it was a hand for the family clock. Mr Weasley had said "You are and always have been part of the family, even if it is unofficially at the moment," which caused himself and Ginny to blush. They had also given Hermione a hand for the clock, to which she was appropriately gobsmacked. Mr Weasley had said they were going to give her it for her birthday as well, but they had missed it while they were on the run.

"Thank you guys so much," Harry said earnestly, squeezing Ginny's hand which she had slipped there after breakfast.

"You are quite welcome, dear," Mrs Weasley replied, sweeping round the table collecting plates.

After enjoying the usual Weasley bantering Mr Weasley, Bill and Fleur had to leave for work.

"Hope you have a good day, Harry."

"Bon Anniversaire!" Fleur called.

"See you later, Weasleys!"

A chorus of 'Bye's echoed through the kitchen, and in almost no time only Charlie, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, George, Percy and Mrs Weasley were left in the kitchen.

"How come you two don't have to work?" Ginny asked, referring to George and Percy.

"I've got Lee and Angela watching the shop today. Couldn't miss Harrykins' birthday now, could I?" George replied, smirking.

"I had a day off today, simple as. Sorry if you wanted a better excuse Sis," Percy replied, grabbing a few empty glasses and placing them in the sink.

"So, how long are you here, Charlie?" asked Hermione. Charlie had moved back to Romania to get back to work. Mrs Weasley was a bit teary, understandably; she enjoyed having the house so full.

"I'll be here until you lot leave for Hogwarts. I asked for some leave from the dragons," replied Charlie, taking a bite out of an apple.

"Oh Cool! So you can come to our party then!" Ginny said happily; she didn't see enough of her older brother.

"Yup, looking forward to it,"

"Any plans for today, kids?" Mrs Weasley questioned, leaning near the sink, supervising the pots that were now washing themselves.

"Go on, Harry, you pick, you're the birthday boy after all," Ron prompted.

"How about some quidditch?" he asked the table. It seemed a safe bet that the Weasleys would be up for quidditch.

"Great! I want to see these famous seeker skills you've got Potter," Charlie enthused.

"But, Charlie dearest, Harrykins could surely wipe the floor with you," George commented innocently, "No offense intended, of course big bro," he smiled at his brother.

"Yeah, Charlie, you should've seen the first game he played. He caught the Snitch in his mouth, after standing on his broom!" Ron told enthusiastically, as the group made their way to the broom shed. Embarrassed, Harry blushed and tried to ignore them.

When they were playing the teams were split; Harry, Ginny and George on one team, and Ron, Percy and Charlie on the other. Charlie and Harry were acting as Seekers, and the others were acting as Chasers and Keepers. Hermione had, not unexpectedly, had chosen to sit out and watch.

They mounted their brooms and pushed into the air. Ginny was the first to swoop in and grab the quaffle. Percy tried unsuccessfully to intercept the quaffle, as Ginny weaved through the air, before shooting through a hoop, just before Ron got there to guard it. Harry watched Ginny from above as she flew gracefully around the orchard.

"Oi Potter! Stop ogling my sister and look for the bloody snitch!" George yelled as Percy scored a goal.

Shaking his head, he saw Charlie circling the pitch. Suddenly Harry shot down, Charlie hot on his heels, and soared towards the ground. Just before he hit the ground, he pulled up the broom handle sharply, brushing his feet on the floor before rocketing up, looping backwards and coming to a lazy stop. He looked over the pitch and saw the other players had stopped playing and were looking at him in awe.

"What?" he asked confused.

He gained no reply, but Ginny shouted out, "Keep playing, you can marvel at the Chosen One's flying skills later!", before shooting the quaffle towards the opposition's hoops.

Charlie flew up towards him as the game resumed.

"Charlie?" Harry asked, hoping for an answer.

"Harry... That was bloody amazing! I've never seen a more perfect Wronski Feint performed ever! And pulling off an inverse arch at that speed... Merlin! If you ever wanted to go pro, you would reinvent the Seeker's role!" he enthused, clearly impressed.

"Um... Thanks," Harry replied blushing.

"Anyway, see you later, Potter, I got a snitch to catch," and he shot off to the other side of the field, with Harry close behind. It was another 30 minutes later that Harry finally spotted the Snitch near Ginny's ear. He shot off and managed to kiss Ginny's cheek before his fingers wrapped around the fluttering golden snitch.

The day was spent playing games of Quidditch, laughing around, trying new Weasley products and enjoying his time with family and friends. Harry had the best birthday he could remember, and it only got better after dinner when he and Ginny enjoyed a walk around the Burrow's grounds. Ginny also gave him another present; one which was reminiscent of his 17th birthday present. On their return, Hermione smirked at them noticing Harry's goofy grin, and Ginny ruffled hair.

Just before they were going to retire to bed, a letter came for Harry with another note attached. The note read;

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday – I'm sorry Teddy and I couldn't come and see you today, but we will see you definitely at your party (thank you for the invite). A while ago, I was sorting through Dora and Remus' possessions and found a letter addressed to you from them. It was for your birthday when you turned 17, but they seemed to have forgotten it last year with everything going on._

_Hoping to see you soon,_

_Andie _

Harry breath caught in his throat, and passed Ginny who read it and then looked at him with sadness in her eyes, but a slight smile on her face.

"Well, are you going to open it or not?" she asked him softly.

He turned over the letter and carefully broke the seal on the envelope. He recognised Remus' handwriting, and surprisingly a bronze key fell into his hand. Confused, Harry's eyes scanned the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_We are hoping you're having a great birthday. You're of age now, and a fully grown wizard. James and Lily would be so proud of you right now, and I'm sure somewhere their watching you, full of pride._

_Now you're of age, I've decided to give you a gift of a home._

_Tonks and I have been residing in Grimmauld Place and are going to fix it up and I can hopefully say that it will no longer resembles the gloomy and dark place it once was. I'm handing the house over to you when it's finished, you're the rightful owner anyway, and Nymphadora and I have chosen to live elsewhere._

_Wishing you many happy years,_

_Remus and Tonks xxx_

Harry looked at Ginny with a shocked look on his face. He face matched his expression, as she read the note over his shoulder. _Tonks and Remus had given him a house?_ He was touched, but confused and sad also. His felt filled with so many emotions that he had a hard time comprehending a single one. He figured they never got the chance to fix it up, as Ron, Hermione and himself had stayed there for a while last year, and it was still the dark place he knew.

"Oh my god... Harry – you have a house!" Ginny nearly yelled, catching the attention of every occupant of the living room.

"Did she say house?" Ron asked, confused.

"What is she talking about, Harry?" asked Mr Weasley.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Remus and Tonks... they gave me Grimmauld Place as a...birthday present. Andie just found the letter," he said quietly. The room was silent for a few moments as they remembered they recently deceased friends.

"Why don't you go and check it out, mate? See if there's any damage done," Ron asked.

"Well, you shouldn't go now, dear. Go tomorrow, that way you'll have plenty of time to look around," Mrs Weasley commented.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," he said quietly, looking at the letter in his hand.

That night, while Ginny and Harry were in bed, Harry whispered to her;

"Come with me tomorrow?" he asked, seconds away from slumber.

"Of course," she whispered.

"Love you, Gin,"

"I love you too, Harry," he heard her whisper before he fell into to a deep sleep.


	9. Chapter 9 Blissful Birthdays Part 2

**Those 19 Years**

**Chapter 9 – Grimmauld Discoveries and Blissful Birthdays (Part 2)**

Harry coughed as he stepped out of the fireplace into the drawing room of Grimmauld Place. He drew his wand from his back pocket of his jeans, and, holding it aloft, opened the door into the hall. He carefully inspected the dust-covered furniture, and spied Mrs Black's portrait on the wall, or at least what he assumed was the horrible portrait; it was covered by a thick layer of dust. Trying to be as silent as possible, he edged towards the portrait. All was going well before the fireplace spit out Ginny followed by a loudly squabbling Ron and Hermione. Foreseeing what was about to happen, he tried to scramble away from the portrait desperately, but tripped, rather stupidly, on the Troll's leg umbrella stand. Sending dust flying and landing with a thump on the floor, he braced himself for the inevitable explosion of noise. He heard Ron and Hermione stop fighting, presumably waiting for explosion as well, but it never came. Harry picked himself up, brushing off the dust on his shirt; he met Ginny, Ron and Hermione at the doorway from the drawing room.

He slowly walked towards it, suspicious, and swept his wand over the portrait's area muttering a cleaning spell. As the dust siphoned away, it revealed a large rip through the picture.

"Do you think she's gone?" Harry asked, running his hand over the rip.

"I'm not sure. I don't think the picture should be damaged, I mean, the Fat Lady's portrait got a giant rip through it in our third year, but she was still there and the charm still worked. And I doubt the charm has worn off – some portraits are over a thousand years old," Hermione answered, pondering almost to herself.

"What about if it was destroyed with dark magic?" Ginny asked, looking over at Hermione.

"It's a possibility," Harry answered, "Once we left here, I have no doubt that a least one death eater checked this place over for us,"

"I have no doubt that a death eater would use dark magic on the old hag," Ron smirked.

"I think I remember a spell that traces dark magic – let me try it," Hermione said, pulling out her wand and aiming it at the portrait. She muttered some words under her breath whilst tracing the outline of the portrait. When she finished, the portrait glowed green briefly.

"Yep, dark magic - Looks like she's not coming back," Hermione stated turning to the others.

"'Mione, can you teach us that? It'll make the cleaning process much quicker," Harry asked.

"Sure – the incantation is '_deprehensio_ _tenebris'_. It means 'detection of the dark'. Go on try it," she explained.

Harry muttered the incantation at the Troll's leg, before it emitted deep red glow.

"That means it doesn't have any trace of dark magic," she answered his un-said question.

"Wicked," Ron said.

"Okay, let's split up. Ron and Hermione, you start at the top floors and work your way down; me and Gin will start from down here," Harry said, wanting to see the damage his godfather's house had undergone.

"Break for lunch?" Ron asked, hopefully.

Harry laughed, "Of course, I would never consciously separate a Weasley from food," before grabbing Ginny's hand and dragged her down to the kitchen.

Around about 2 hours late, Ginny and Harry had cleaned and scoured the kitchen as well as the lounge, drawing room, bathroom and another floor which was just bathrooms. They met Hermione and Ron on the stairwell. They had cleaned the attic as well as the remaining two floors.

They were now sitting around the table, eating some sandwiches, provided by Kreacher, and a few bottles of Butterbeer that Harry had apparated to get.

"So what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Ron asked, taking a rare yet short break between bites of food.

"Well," Harry said, gulping down some Butterbeer, "I think we should add some colour to this place. We got it clean so let's brighten it up a bit. The furniture is all good condition, so that's just a case of re-colouring the wood and re-upholstering the sofas and chairs. Maybe buy a few bits to make it more home-y next week,"

"Sounds like a plan," Ginny replied, kissing him softly.

"What kind of colour scheme do you have in mind?" Hermione questioned.

"No idea," he replied smiling, "You girls have free reign," he laughed as the girls faces lit up.

"Do you like you'll live here after school?" Ron asked, swigging his drink.

"Yeah, I thought so. If I become an Auror, it's close to the Ministry and being in London is very convenient," he thought for a minute before continuing, "I was gonna ask you guys if you wanted to move in as well; you could each decorate your own room and I think it would be weird if I was in this big house all by myself," Harry looked at Ron carefully.

"Harry, I would love to live here with you. I'm sure Hermione would as well, and I don't even think you would have to ask Ginny; she would love to, no doubt. It would be really cool, mate," he replied, grinning at Harry.

"What would be really cool?" Hermione asked, catching onto the end of the conversation.

Harry explained his idea and Hermione agreed right away, planning her room. Ginny remained silent though.

"Gin?" Harry questioned, reaching for his hand. Her smile soothed his fears.

"Of course I would love to live here," she reached up to kiss him, "One problem. Mum,"

Harry froze as did Ron.

"Oh, Merlin! Do you think she'll kill us?" Ron fretted.

"Ron, you're being extreme. We'll all be adults, so even if she doesn't give her consent, though I'm sure she will, she can't really stop us," Hermione attempted to soothe him.

"Guys, look, it'll be fine. If not, we beg on our hands and knees. Not stop time-wasting - we got a house to decorate," Ginny said, standing from the table and sending their dishes to the sink with a flick of her wand. Her tone held no room for discussion, and the three other teens followed her.

A few hours later, Harry and Ron were finishing up the last bedroom, while the girls were downstairs.

"So, when do you reckon we'll move in?" Ron asked on the way to the dining room.

"Dunno mate. Have you decided whether you're going back to Hogwarts yet?" Harry answered, shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Ron ran a hand through his over-grown ginger locks, "I'm not sure. A part of me wants to move on, you know? Go see what's next in life, but the other half... It wants me to hold onto my childhood. To go back and enjoy, possibly the only peaceful year we could ever have at Hogwarts, with you and Hermione. Especially Hermione. I don't know if I could last a whole year without her,"

"Well, I think you just answered my question," He smirked and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"One more year. I can handle that," He looked a bit weary.

Harry laughed, "It'll be a breeze, mate, and you'll have 'Mione with you the whole time,"

Ron laughed, and continued grinning as they went off in search of their respective girlfriends.

By the end of the day, the four friends had collapsed on the recently cleaned furniture in the drawing room, sipping cold butterbeers from the bottles. Harry was sprawled, still sitting, on one couch; he had one foot resting on the coffee table and the other dangling off the edge of the sofa. Ginny was tucked in next to him, leaning into his side. Hermione was spread on a leather armchair, with her legs resting over Ron's shoulder, who was sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the base of the chair.

"So, I guess the house is ready?" Hermione asked, after swigging back a sip of Butterbeer.

"I guess," Harry replied, leaning his head atop Ginny's.

They had finished decorating the whole house, which was now rid of all dark possessions and, apart from lack of windows and natural light was rid of its depressing and gloomy natural state.

The hall was not painted an apple green with white trimmed borders. The furniture had been stained to a lighter shade brown, drawing away from the almost black previous colour. They had rid the hallway of the hideous and troublesome troll's leg umbrella stand; they had moved it to the loft, in memory of Tonks, and her constant tripping. The drawing room had the dark blue pinstriped walls, with mahogany furniture including a side table, a chest of drawers, a desk as wells as a centring coffee table, which was surrounded by various leather chairs or sofas. The living room was a lighter blue with fabric sofas and looked quite similar to the drawing room regarding furniture. Underfoot was a soft brown carpet, in both the drawing room and living room. The next room was the dining room, which had been painted with deep Gryffindor red walls and dark brown furniture. The table had been polished and was gleaming under the shinning lights. The kitchen was no longer grey and dull, but an inviting green, much like the hall way, accompanied with a wooden table and four chairs, and matching cabinets and black stone surfaces. There were a few things missing, Hermione insisting they purchase a refrigerator and a muggle cooker; they were lucky to be able to have gotten the counter tops today, as Harry and Ron had to make a quick trip to Gringotts in exchange for the marble-like material. Thankfully, the goblins had forgiven them for the slight damage they had caused earlier in the year, but not until after Harry offered to pay them back – Goblins are all about business.

Upstairs, they had decorated the three spare bedrooms the same; they had light crème walls with double beds with adorning wardrobes, desks and chests of drawers. There was one bathroom on the floor which was simply stripped of the snake-like feature, replaced with more modern fixtures, but remained with white tiles. Ron's bedroom was opposite, which was decorated with Chudley orange walls. The bedspread matched and he had placed a Chudley flag and poster mural above his new desk. He had some more furniture and a fuzzy brown rug spread over the wooden floors. Harry's room was to the left of Ron's and was at the end of the hall. After giving Ginny choice, she had decided on emerald green walls and dark wooden furniture; he had a soft carpet underfoot unlike Ron and a Puddlemere United banner above his desk.

On the next floor, they had left Sirius' room as it was as a memory to him. They had decorated the remaining bedrooms the same as the floor below, however the girl's had two bedrooms on the left of the corridor. Hermione's was decorated a light purple and featured mainly bookcases. Both girls had white furniture accompanying their rooms, as well as crème carpets. Ginny had chosen on a light pistachio green for her room and light fabric curtains covering her window. She, obviously had a Harpies banner on the back of her door.

The house was complete.

"When should we move in?" Ginny asked.

"Well," Hermione began, "if we're all going back to school," she began, shooting a glance at Ron, who smiled and nodded at her. She paused giving him a kiss, "We could move our stuff in just before the year starts and then move in afterwards, or we could just move in after the years over,"

There was a moments silence as they all pondered the options.

"I vote sooner, rather than after the year," Ginny said, holding up her Butterbeer.

"Seconded," Harry replied, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

"Alright then - We'll move stuff in a few days before Hogwarts and then we'll move in after the year," Ron concluded. He drew a last gulp of his Butterbeer, before standing, stretching and holding out a hand to Hermione, "I suppose we'd better make a move. It's almost 11,"

"Right you are, big brother," Ginny added before standing and stretching too, "Anyway, I've got to be refreshed for the big birthday," She smiled and turned to Harry.

"Hate to break it too you, love, but it's almost another whole week till your big day," he smirked and pulled himself up, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Do you have to spoil all my fun?" she pouted jokingly, before reaching up and kissing him.

"You may be right, Harry," Hermione pointed out, "But you're party is in a few days,"

"You speak wise words, milady," Harry teased in a regal accent as they walked towards the floo, "we must make hast with preparations for our festivities,"

"Good point, brave sir. We must immediately begin in the morrow," Ginny returned laughing.

The next few days were a flourish of activity, planning for the party and Ron and Hermione's upcoming Australia trip. With the help of Harry and the Ministry, they had booked a hotel in the area Hermione's parents were based, and had found some leads; it should be a relatively short trip if all went as planned.

On the day of the party, Harry awoke to an empty bed. Placing his glasses on his face, he felt the indentation where Ginny had been sleeping finding it cool. He would've been panicked, but with the reassurance of the noise coming from all areas of the house, his worries were eased. Pulling on a discarded pyjama shirt, he shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen. He saw Mrs Weasley bustling around the kitchen, and Ginny and Hermione, still pyjama clad, looking over some lists whilst munching on toast.

"Morning Harry," Mrs Weasley called, and placing a plate of breakfast in front of one of the seats.

"Morning all," he returned, kissing Ginny's cheek, but in her distracted state, she kissed the air after he moved to sit.

"Everything ready?" he asked.

"Yup, just checking," Ginny said after getting up and leaning against the counter sipping tea, "Remember to wear something nice," she reminded him, whilst heading up the stairs with Hermione on her arm.

Harry soon headed up to Ron's room, where his outfit had been put by the day on the girl's orders. Ron stepped over to his dresser and began pulling on some clothes that Hermione had picked out.

"Guess we better get used to this, eh mate?" Ron said whilst pulling on his collared white shirt.

"Used to what?" Harry asked, slipping into some dark blue, almost black, jeans.

"The girls choosing what we wear. The next thing we know, they'll be buying our clothes! It would be like Mum choosing me those gross maroon jumpers and things," he smirked whilst looking toward Harry. Finding an opportunity to make Ron flustered, which he hadn't in a while, Harry gave him a disgusted look before saying,

"You're comparing Hermione to your Mum? Ew, now that's gross mate," he said before sitting down and pulling on some ankle socks, and trying to stifle his laughter.

When he got back up and turned round he saw Ron standing still, his ears red and spluttering idiotically. Harry laughed and then came over and patted Ron sarcastically on the shoulder. This seemed to break Ron out of his reverie, and Ron threw a pair of socks at his laughing best friend.

After making the customary trips to 'freshen up', the boys headed down-stairs to help out. They began placing tables and chairs around the yard of the Burrow. They also helped set up the food buffet, whilst sneaking a few tastes – well, more than a few on Ron's part – and strung some coloured lanterns through the trees, whilst flying on their brooms through the slight summer's breeze.

At around 4 in the afternoon, the guests were due to arrive any minute. Bill and Fleur had already showed up, as well as Percy and Audrey, Charlie, and Adie and Teddy. Harry had been entertaining Teddy whilst sitting in the Living Room with the toddler in his lap, but when he heard a creak in the stairs, he passed him quickly with a kiss to the head to an awaiting Mrs Weasley. He and Ron were waiting eagerly at the bottom of the stairs as Hermione and Ginny descended. Hermione came down first; he hair was straightened and hanging loosely around her shoulders and she wore a red, above-the-knee dress, with capped shoulder. She walked up to Ron and lifted his jaw, smiling.

"Don't catch flies, Ronald. I imagine kissing you like that would be the most unpleasant experience," she jibbed gently, before leaning up and touching his lips to hers him.

Harry barely noticed their interaction as his sole focus was on the brilliant red-head coming towards him. Ginny was wearing a dark blue dress that hugged her figure, that was the same length as Hermione's. She had her hair piled upon her head in an elegant, yet casual knot. She walked over to him, giving him an appreciative eye.

"You are looking very handsome, Mr Potter," she said whilst running her hands up his emerald dress shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and he was wearing a leather bracelet that Ginny had made him over the summer.

"I could say the same about you, Miss Weasley," he smiled his devilishly handsome smile towards her, and she couldn't resist not reaching up and pull him into a searing kiss.

They were quite lost in their own world, but some coughing brought back their attention. They looked to see a rather disgruntled Ron and a smirking Hermione.

"Kids! There are guest arriving!" Mrs Weasley called.

The four made it outside, and Ginny and Harry walked to stand near the apparition point so as to greet their guests. Within half an hour, all their guests had arrived, including the whole of Dumbledore's Army, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, and about half of Gryffindor house, including Oliver Wood and Alicia Bell. About 15 minutes after the party really kicked off, George, and to the surprise of almost everyone else, Angelina Johnson. They were both looking rather flustered, but immediately were pulled into a conversation with Lee Jordan and Alicia; few, it seemed, had noticed their joined hands.

Harry and Ginny mingled with their guest and danced to the muggle music that Hermione had provided, using a spell she'd learnt from Professor Flitwick, the music systems that were blearing around the Burrow's garden. They played and danced with Teddy, who eventually fell asleep on Ginny's shoulder, calling an end to his partying time. As the time wore on, the sunlight fading and Harry and Ron activated the lanterns, lighting up the garden and winding through the trees.

After a few hours, the party had died down considerably, leaving only Harry, Hermione, the Weasley's, Neville and Luna sitting in a circle in the garden, each sipping either a firewhisky or a Butterbeer.

"Well, Happy Birthday, you guys," Neville called, lifting his glass.

"Here, here," the others repeated.

"Thanks guys," Harry said, smiling from his spot leaning against a tree with Ginny between his legs. Harry was soaking in the moment; he had his love in his arms, had a great evening filled with fun and laughter and still had time to relax with his friends – he was insanely happy, and for once in his life, felt content.

"Yeah, thanks for being here. You made it the best birthday yet," Ginny added, leaning against Harry's chest.

"Technically, it's not your birthday yet, Gin-Gin," George commented, whilst downing the last of his firewhisky.

"Yeah, well, close enough," she muttered, closing her eyes and tucking her head under Harry's chin. Moments later, she was asleep.

"Well, I guess the almost-birthday girl has called an end to this party," Charlie stated, before standing and stretching.

"Yes, yes. Off to bed all of you. We'll see you two soon," Mrs Weasley said, wandering over to Bill and Fleur.

Harry stood and lifted a sleeping Ginny into his arms.

"Night all," he announced softly.

"Night," they chorused variously.

Harry carried Ginny up the stairs carefully before placing her gently on her bed. He removed her shoes, before gently rousing her so she could change. After she groggily pulled on one of his old shirts, she pulled him to her, he clad only in boxers.

"Night Harry - Love you," she murmured, snuggling closer to him.

"Love you too," Harry breathed in the scent of her hair and drifted off to sleep.

Almost immediately afterwards, or so it seemed, August 11th had rolled around again, and it was Ginny's birthday. Harry woke as the sunlight poured through the window in Ginny's room and through the open curtains. He was curled around Ginny, whose head was lying on his outstretched arm and holding his other arm around her and against her chest. Once savouring the moment, Harry nuzzled his nose through her thick hair and kissed her neck. She sighed happily in her sleep, and subconsciously turned her head towards him. He kissed a trail down her neck and along her jaw. She moaned lightly and rolled onto her back, Harry pressing kisses over her face until she grabbed his head in her hands and brought him down for a searing kiss. She pulled back smiling and opened her eyes slowly, looking deep into his.

"Good morning, my love," Harry said, grinning.

"Good morning indeed," she said, pulling him in for another kiss.

"Happy Birthday," Harry said breathlessly, pulling back from her again.

It took her a moment to react and shot up. Thanks to his seeker agility, Harry moved out of the way quickly, avoiding a head injury. She grabbed her wand off of the bedside table and started firing spells. In a moment, her window opened, some flowers flew in from the garden and placed them in a transfigured vase on her desk, and all their clothes from the night before were suddenly folded and sitting on the back of the desk chair.

"Woo!" she celebrated, standing on the bed and jumping, "I'm an adult! I can do magic! Watch out wizarding world, here I come!"

Harry laughed hysterically, watching the newly adult witch acting like she was 5.

"Come on, chuckles," she said, beaming and grabbing his hand, "I have a birthday breakfast to attend,"

The day flew by, after having opened her presents, she and Harry walked around the Burrow, laughing and kissing, and a bit of flying included. She had received some great gifts; Hermione and Ron had gotten her a book (by no doubt Hermione's influence) about the history of the Holyhead Harpies, her Mum and Dad had gotten her a beautiful watch, Bill and Fleur had given her some new, top-of-the-line chaser gloves. Charlie had gotten her a new personalised Harpies jersey, Percy and George had given her some new Weasley Wizard Wheezes products (Percy had begun helping George after the end of the war). Harry had given her some chocolates from Honeydukes' finest collection, and a beautiful locket, containing a picture of the two of them at the party and engraved with '_Love you forever, Gin. – Harry'_.

It was one of the best birthdays ever, in Ginny's opinion, and despite summer being almost over, she was also looking forward to a whole year at school, peaceful, and with Harry to herself.


End file.
